Kolkata: Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate, Priyanka Tibrewal who is contesting elections against Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur Bypolls has alleged Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Madan Mitra that he had deliberately shut down a voting machine at one of the booths.
“Madan Mitra has purposely shut the voting machine here as he wants to capture the booth,” Tibrewal said during her booth visits on Thursday. The BJP candidate also said that the Bengal government is in fear.
“If people come out and vote, you will get to see the results,” said Tibrewal.
Priyanka was visiting polling booths in the Bhabanipur constituency from where TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is seeking re-election.
Bengal minister Firhad Hakim rubbished Tibrewal’s allegation of booth jamming and said that polls are taking place peacefully.
The polling began at 7 in the morning. Vote counting will be done on October 3. The election was necessitated due to the resignation of Banerjee’s party leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay to make way for her.
The bypolls are being held in south Kolkata’s Bhabanipur, besides Jangipur and Samserganj seats in Murshidabad district.
A total 6,97,164 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the three constituencies. Votes will be counted on October 3.
As part of its elaborate security arrangements, the Election Commission has deployed 72 companies of central forces in the three constituencies, of which 35 are stationed in Bhabanipur alone.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed within 200 metres of the polling centres.During the Nandigram polling, TMC leader Derek O’Brien had filed a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) regarding alleged booth capturing by BJP workers.Speaking to the media, O’Brien had said that the BJP needed to stop mind games.
“The BJP need to stop their mind games. It is very obvious that they are sensing defeats. Trinamool agents are rock-solid in 354 booths in Nandigram. We registered complaints for 10 or 11 specific booths. All of them are influenced by the CRPF. People of Nandigram are determined to have Mamata Banerjee as their MLA and she will become the CM for the third time,” he said.
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